DVD Review: Finding Joy

Finding Joy is a quirky, sweet comedy about a writer whose life is not going well, and who soon has no alternative but to move back in with his family. Things continue to go poorly until he meets an odd neighbor who presents him with an even odder task.

The film opens with Kyle (Josh Cooke) stepping toward camera, and stepping into focus, to read from his book. His reading is not well attended (but hell, at least he’s published, so I can’t feel too sorry for the guy). He comes home to find his belongings on the street, after his friend has kicked him out. No one else is willing to put him up, which of course calls into question his character. Clearly he has no true friends. He lives in his car until it’s towed. So he finally goes to his father’s house, where a street sign not-so-subtly tells him “Dead End.”

Interestingly, he’s not the only son who is forced to live at home. His brother Marshall (Tyler Bunch) lives in the house, along with his wife and daughter. These characters are also unhappy, with Marshall’s wife suspecting Marshall of infidelity. At one point she breaks down to Kyle: “I was prom queen, Kyle. I was destined to be blissfully happy forever.” Also living in the house is Gloria (Lainie Kazan), his father’s lover. Kyle’s father is played by Barry Bostwick, who makes even the weak lines about erectile dysfunction work. His natural delivery is just what is needed to ground this film in a reality. Though of course his character is not without his own problems. Since his wife’s death, he has not been out of the house.

Soon Kyle meets Joy (Liane Balaban), who now lives in the house next door. Joy reveals to Kyle that she recently learned she’s going to die soon and asks him to write her obituary. She tells him, “I don’t want the last thing that people read about me to be some grammatically incorrect piece of crap.” He points out that he doesn’t know her, so she says they’ll have to spend some time together. And this awkward friendship soon inspires Kyle to start writing again.

Though there are small individual moments that don’t work, this is a film that overall hits the mark. There are moments that made me laugh out loud, sometimes little things like when Kyle tells his brother to keep the engine running while he takes care of something. The car in question is in need of repair and often has trouble starting, so that line comes off as delightfully funny. And the moment when Kyle’s father takes his first step outside couldn’t be funnier. The film is also often surprisingly touching, and has quite a lot of heart.

There are good performances from the entire cast, particularly by Barry Bostwick as Alan, and also by Arielle Hoffman as Mel, Marshall’s daughter.

Finding Joy was directed by Carlo De Rosa, and is scheduled to be released on DVD on December 9, 2014 through Inception Media Group. The DVD includes the film’s trailer.